The NFL playoffs are just over a month away and plenty of teams remain in the picture for a playoff spot.

The Detroit Lions obviously aren't one of them.

Yet the Lions make for better conversation than many of their NFL rivals, who all have better records.

That's what happens when a team goes through the first three months of the season without figuring out how to win at least one game. Suddenly, the worst team in the league becomes as newsworthy as the teams that seem on a Super Bowl course.

Can the Lions finally win a game? That will be one of the main topics discussed tomorrow morning on most of the NFL pre-game shows that air before the Lions match up against NFC Central-foe Minnesota at the Silverdome.

Not only do the 0-12 Lions make for good chatter on pre-game shows and sports-talk radio stations, their dire straits make them an intriguing television dilemma this late in the season. They've reached the point in the year where they're flirting with becoming the first team to go winless since the NFL began playing a 16-game regular season.

They are interesting enough to become a TV topic, but not appealing enough to pack the Silverdome.

Unfortunately, the former is affected by the latter and, as a result, many in the Detroit television market - which includes the Toledo area - may not see the Lions' losing streak end or perhaps stretch into 16 defeats.

Tomorrow's game against the Vikings will be blacked out in the Detroit market after the game failed to draw a sellout crowd by the NFL-mandated deadline. More than 8,000 tickets were still available on Thursday afternoon for the game between the teams with the two worst records in the NFC Central.

The Lions, who have come close to winning on more than one occasion, have a chance to win against the Vikings. However, a loss to Minnesota (5-7) would put them on the road next week still winless against a tough Pittsburgh team.

Considering how the season has played out, it's conceivable to think the Lions could be heading into their final two games - home dates with Chicago Dec. 30 and Dallas Jan. 6 - with 14 losses.

Other than when the Lions play on the road against the Steelers on Dec. 23, the Detroit-Toledo television market probably won't see another Lions game this season - the last in the Silverdome.

Not having the opportunity to watch the Lions on local TV during their final three home games at the Silverdome seems like an injustice, particularly if they end up setting an NFL record for losses.

Even if it is a record for futility, it would still make Detroit's first season under Matt Millen and Marty Mornhinweg, and the final season playing home games in Pontiac, memorable.

If nothing else, the record would still make for a hot NFL topic during the NFL playoffs on sports-talk radio stations and NFL pre- and post-game television shows.

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First Published December 15, 2001, 11:54 a.m.